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dentist

At her 3 year check-up, N's pedi said this is the year to start going to the dentist. Has anyone gone yet? Any tips to share? I'm worried about how N is going to do... when I brush her teeth, she will open only for a second and then clamp down. She'll cooperate for about 30 seconds and that's about it; she definitely doesn't like her mouth messed with.

Also, do you all use a pedi dentist or a general one? I'm wondering if a pedi dentist might be less traumatic for her.

I just grilled Colleen about this subject recently, lol! Luckily we have a new pedi dentist in town that I'm going to use, figure they are used to unwilling children all the time if it should be a difficult visit. I'm guessing it'll be the "kid with other people" effect. You know how with you they act one way, but with others entirely different. Looking forward to what others say about their experiences though!

I'm taking Miles with me to my dentist next time I go. They didn't really want to see him before 3 1/2 they said (he'll be a few months early).

The hygenist said that at the first visit they'll let him sit in the chair and if they actually get him to open his mouth, they consider that a success. She said that about one in ten kids she sees the first time does she actually get to clean their teeth.

I'm taking Miles to my regular dentist just because I like him. He has one kid and his parnter has 4 and the hygenist has a few herself. So they're not a kid practice, but they're obviously kid friendly.

Ditto what the pp said. Go around 3.5 years and expect that all you might accomplish is to try out the chair. If Noelle does open her mouth for the dentist, he is probably only going to want to have a look at this point. A good, kid-friendly dentist will act thrilled and give her a small plastic toy and send her home. The idea is to get a good impression about going back 6 months later. At which time, you may be amazed - Theo was four when he let the dentist do xrays for the first time. Good luck!

I took G to my dentist a couple months ago. He refused to sit in the chair, so he sat on my lap. We got him to open his mouth after much persuasion and the hygenist did a quick count of what teeth she could see from the outside and said she didn't see any obvious cavities (again from what she could see from the outside) and that was it. She said for the first visit it was basically just to get him used to the idea.

I started taking Gwendolyn right after she turned 1 and have taken her every year since. We go to a pedi dentist and she is wonderful with uncooperative children. She basically just counts the teeth and then brushes them with some kinda stuff, flouride maybe?? Can't remember exactly what it was but she told Gwendolyn it was "vitamins for her teeth" Gwendolyn sits on my lap and she screams and cries the whole time but at least when she is screaming she opens her mouth, lol.

I started taking Gwendolyn right after she turned 1 and have taken her every year since. We go to a pedi dentist and she is wonderful with uncooperative children. She basically just counts the teeth and then brushes them with some kinda stuff, flouride maybe?? Can't remember exactly what it was but she told Gwendolyn it was "vitamins for her teeth" Gwendolyn sits on my lap and she screams and cries the whole time but at least when she is screaming she opens her mouth, lol.

I shouldn't laugh, but that totally cracked me up! I can see Noelle doing that, too.

abby has had her teeth cleaned twice already, and is due again in june
when you start them at one, it should just be a lap visit(sitting on parents lap). and they painted fluoride varnish on her teeth!! yay......that is a great 1 yr old appt.......pedi dentists are awesome because everything is geared for the little people......but there is no real reason not to take them to your family dentists....they are called family dentists because they treat families. i know pedi dentists around her charge on average about 20 dollars more PER service as opposed to family practices.....and they can because they are specialists. i worked pedi....it was exhausting!!!!!!!!!LOL!!!! but very rewarding!!!
a 3 yr old visit should get them acclimated to the office in a super friendly manner......i used to take a real good medical history/nutritional history of the family and child.......and i ask the kids lots of goofy questions about how they eat......what they eat........when they eat......that way i could take a good caries assessment......(how likely they were to get cavities in the future)......95% of the time, i could get the kids teeth tickled with mr. tickle, my motorized toothbrush.....and i would use my friends to help count their teeth and check for cavities all at the same time, and then i would paint their teeth with the fluoride varnish all in less than 10 minutes!!!!!!!!!! (the actual dental part was less than 10 minutes).......but the whole visit is usually 30 minutes long........

it should be a super low stress visit....it's really about building a healthy, friendly, interest in taking care of their own teeth visit.......

oh another thing.........this always helps......is bring your own toothpaste......that way when they go to polish the kids teeth, it's a familiar taste.......the grit of the prophy paste can really freak a kid out!!!!!!

Josh has been twice. Each time was as lap exam. The screamed and fought them whole time. They counted his teeth but didnt but the fluoride varnish on. Not really sure why. Maybe there was too much fighting going one. Sofia has been twice too. She fought the process too.

Aidan's first visit was June of last year, he did remarkably well, they took him into the other room while they did my exam and he sat perfectly, he's been again since and did just as well, I think it was better that I wasn't in the room with him. they have TV's on the ceiling and they let him watch Treehouse, they also took his pic for the wall of fame and gave him stickers, he loved it lol.

Jayden went for the first time back in January. I took him to a children's dentist, and they were wonderful with him. He was unsure at first - he sat on my lap the whole time. They basically just counted his teeth and brushed them. He got a bunch of prizes and was happy as a clam!

Oooooh, oooh...can I brag??! John Henry went in April and did wonderful!! I was such a proud mama!! Went to our normal family dentist, sat in the chair like a big man and they just did a normal appointment and cleaning...used all the neccesary tools, even sprayed the water to rinse and the little suction thing to suck out the spit. I couldn't believe it! They didn't baby him at all! I talked to him about it for a few weeks 1st...told him that they would count all his teeth and clean them real good.... I was expecting the worst and got the best!!

We'll take Mikayla along when we next take the boys (soon, I need to get that scheduled) to just watch. We did the same with the boys. then the next visit she'll actually get in the chair. We go to a family dentist, they're really good with the kids.

We took Delaney to a pediatric dentist a few months ago. I had been talking it up for a long time about how she was going to the dentist and they would look at her teeth and brush them. She loved it and was extremely cooperative. They were even able to use the power tooth brush instead of just a regular one which is what the normally do for 2 and 3 year olds.

I've also heard that if you have her go for your check up and just watch, it might help.

I vote for a pediatric dentist because they are used to kids and have a very kid friendly office (tvs above the chair, sunglasses for the light, etc)